Sunday, January 29, 2017

Are children closer to companion animals than to their siblings?

Children often have a closer relationship with companion
animals than their siblings, a study has found. This may come as a surprise,
until one considers that “In the US and England pets are more common in
families with children than resident fathers”(University of Cambridge Research, 2017) and “In Western
households pets are nearly as common as siblings: in the UK for example, just
under three quarters (74%) of families with a ten-year-old child also own a pet
(Westgarth et at., 2010)”(Cassels et al., 2017).

Matt Cassels, lead author of the study, was using data
from the Toddlers Up Project lead by Professor Claire Hughes at the Centre forFamily Research. This is a ten-year longitudinal study of the social and
emotional development of children. Cassels utilised an adaptation of an established
measure of human relationship quality, the Network of Relationships Inventory,
to determine how factors such as companion animal type and child’s gender
affected relationship quality, and to compare children’s relationships with
companion animals to their relationships with their siblings.

It makes sense. Companion animals are treated as members
of the family, they share a home with children and – like children – are typically
dependent on the adult figures in the household for their care(Cassels et al., 2017).

For this study the researchers looked at data from 77
twelve-year-old children.

The findings are fascinating. Children reported deriving
greater satisfaction and more companionship from dogs when compared to other
species. Girls reported deriving more
companionship, and engaging more disclosure with companion animals, as well as –
interestingly – conflict with pets, than did boys. The nature of this conflict
is not discussed but it would be interesting to learn more.

Another striking finding was that children in this study
reported deriving more satisfaction and engaging in less conflict with
companion animals than with siblings.

The reasons why are a matter of conjecture. My immediate
thought is that children may compete for similar resources while there is less
competition with a companion animal for the same resources. Companion animals
cannot talk back, therefore it may be harder to express disagreement.

There are limitations with the study, including its
relatively small sample size and shortcomings associated with the NRI, as
discussed by the authors.

But if we entertain the concept that “pets may exert
developmental influence similar to that of siblings”(Cassels et al., 2017), it certainly raises
questions about our responsibilities in fostering the quality of relationships
between children and companion animals, and role-modelling of care for
non-human members of the household. It also raises questions about the impact
of negative relationships (for example, where a child is frightened of or harms
companion animals) on both children and companion animals, and the enormity of
losing a companion animal in childhood.

Companion animals are ever-present and often in the
background. As I was discussing with a client this week, we probably spend more
time in their company than we do with other humans in our lives, we just don’t
always realise.

Veterinary Ethics: Navigating Tough Cases

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